He addressed Belvani after going through what struck me as a rather perfunctory set of ritual gesticulations., "Lord Belvani, there's a constable demanding to see the informer at the front gate." Belvani and I looked at each other and I shrugged irritably, bloody Yemalians what am I invisible?. I nodded and let him take the lead, "We'll be right there." The templar nodded and hastened back to his post. We followed as quickly as I could manage.
When we reached the gate we saw a somewhat nervous looking constable trying his best and failing miserably to look as impressive as the templar guards. I could have told him he lacked the added presence 25 kilos of armour and a big crest on your helmet added. The big pig stickers they were holding didn't hurt either. The constable recognized me and looked relieved. Constables aren't particularly welcome here in Suntown.
"Placidus, Jorjar sent me to find you. There's been another body
found down in the cebu pens." Bloody marvellous I thought and asked
"What on Genertela is a cebu?" The constable shrugged and said, "It's
sort of like a cow. Some rich Lunar farmer who got himself exiled
from the Empire has decided to try and raise them here in Prax.
Apparently he thinks he might have a chance of getting the
shamanesses at the Paps to accept them like Dorasar did with the
zebras." Fat chance I thought unless they have stripes. "Whose body
is it?" I asked. The constable shrugged and said, "Another one of
these Yemalians we think." This announcement cause quite a stir among
the formerly unflappable gate guards whom Belvani silenced with a curt
order. He told one of the guards to tell Haloric where we were going
and what had happened and then nodded to me. "Lead the way." I said.
Sigh, all the way across the bloody town again with the heat of midday blazing down on us and every stone wall emanating heat. Now I know what Lodril's home must be like. Of course we had an easy go of it since only mad dogs and Lunars go out in the noon day sun and fortunately we didn't see either of those on the way. These cebu pens proved to be just over the river on the Badside bank but a little ways downstream. There were a few sevens of the critters and they looked to me at least a little like bison what with the humps they have over their forequarters. Strange looking critters. I learned later that their forebears had come all the way from Teshnon. There were some herdsmen dressed in foreign garb standing at the fence around one of the pens gazing at something on the ground while the cebu where standing as far away as they could get from that side. Jorjar and another constable where there as well.
Jorjar turned as he heard us approaching. "About time you got here," he grumpily said. Belvani, the constable and I forced our way through the herdsmen and looked down at what they'd been looking at. It was a body dressed in Yemalian style clothing of a foreign cut. Jorjar pointed at the corpse who was lying face down. "Know him? he asked us. "Not from his back," Belvani replied. I shook my head, "No one I know." Though to be honest I had my suspicions. Jorjar gestured impatiently for one of the constables to climb over the fence and turn the stiff over. The one who had been with Jorjar climbed the fence reluctantly and turned him over. Belvani took Yemalio's name very much in vain and said, "Damn, it's Belarus."
To be continued.
Oliver
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